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April 20, 2014

Top Portfolio Products: New MLP ETNs From Barclays, OFI Global

Brinker Capital offers three liquid-alternative mutual funds; more

Marathon Value Portfolio has cut its management fee.

New products and changes introduced over the last week include coming MLP ETNs from Barclays and OFI Global Asset Management and three liquid alternative mutual funds from Brinker Capital.

In addition, the Marathon Value Portfolio announced a fee reduction and Anfield Capital Management has been appointed the sole advisor to the Anfield Universal Fixed Income Fund.

Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:

1) Barclays, OFI Capital Management to Offer MLP ETNs

Barclays Bank PLC and OFI Global Asset Management, which consists of OppenheimerFunds Inc. and certain of its advisory subsidiaries, announced the planned launch of the Barclays OFI SteelPath MLP ETNs. Barclays plans to apply to list the ETNs on the NYSE under the ticker symbol OSMS. If the application is approved, Barclays expects that the ETNs will begin trading on April 24.

The ETNs will be linked to the volume-weighted average price of the Barclays OFI SteelPath Midstream MLP Index, which is designed to track the performance of a basket of direct interests in master limited partnerships (MLPs) and limited liability companies.

2) Brinker Capital Launches Trio of Liquid Alternative Mutual Funds

Brinker Capital has announced the formal launch of three 40-Act liquid alternative mutual funds. The Crystal Strategy Absolute Income Fund (CSTFX) seeks to provide current income and downside protection to conventional equity markets with absolute returns over full market cycles as a secondary objective. The Crystal Strategy Absolute Return Fund (CSRAX) seeks to provide positive returns over full market cycles. The Crystal Strategy Leveraged Alternative Fund (CSLFX) seeks to provide long-term positive absolute return with reduced correlation to conventional equity markets as a secondary objective.

The funds will be offered primarily through the insurance-based and independent broker dealer channels as well as through RIAs. The funds are available via the Fidelity IWS and NFS, Pershing, Schwab, TD Ameritrade (AMTD) and LPL custodial platforms.

3) Marathon Value Portfolio Reduces Management Fee

The Marathon Value Portfolio (MVPFX), a mutual fund focusing on long-term capital appreciation, has announced a reduction in its management fee.

The Marathon Value Portfolio is advised by Atlanta-based Spectrum Advisory Services, Inc. Spectrum has made the decision to reduce the Marathon Value Portfolio’s management fee by 10 basis points, from 120 to 110. This change took effect on March 1.

4) Anfield Capital Management Now Sole Fund Advisor

Anfield Capital Management has been appointed the sole advisor to the Anfield Universal Fixed Income Fund (AFLIX) by the fund’s board of trustees.

AFLIX, which aims to give fixed income investors an unhindered alternative to benchmark-driven investment strategies, is not tied to an index. The principals at Anfield formerly worked together for 15 years at PIMCO. They are David Young, founder and CEO of Anfield; Cyrille Conseil, senior portfolio manager; and Peter Van de Zilver, director of portfolio analytics and risk management.